NATO commander tells Russia: ‘Stop meddling’

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The commander of NATO forces in Europe, US General Curtis Scaparrotti, demands Russia “stop meddling” in European elections, amid concerns about Kremlin interference in the Catalan crisis.

Spanish media have accused Moscow-backed outlets such as Russia Today and Sputnik — which have Spanish language services — of playing a destabilising role in the crisis triggered by Catalonia’s banned October 1 referendum.

Moscow is also suspected of interfering in last year’s US presidential election and Britain’s Brexit vote, and Scaparrotti said he was concerned by “Russian malign influence” in other countries.

Head of US European Command Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti meets with IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot in the military’s Tel Aviv headquarters, as part of an official visit, on March 6, 2017. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

“It is something that we’ve seen in the United States, we’ve seen it in a number of countries here in the elections of late,” Scaparrotti said when asked about claims of Russian interference in Catalonia.

“It should stop meddling in other nations, (in) what is their sovereign right to determine their government and how it works,” he told reporters at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said NATO ministers had “discussed at length Russia’s now constant efforts to intercede in our sovereign democratic processes”.

Bogus news reports and images shared widely online have helped fuel the crisis triggered by Catalonia’s banned October 1 independence referendum.